With the NFL Draft slighty more than one week from now, the NFL energy in the air is palpable.

The 2009 schedule was released last night and mock drafts, trades and prognostications are flying out of every major and minor media outlet, sports and football blogs and fans alike. Who can tell that baseball season just started and the NBA playoffs are about to being with all of this NFL coverage?!?

This will be our last personal mock draft update for the 2009 season. I wanted to say that I appreciated all of the feedback I received on each of our mocks, and thank you guys for reading it. Please feel free to tear this one apart as well.

Next week, The Hazean’s 2009 reader/blogger NFL Mock Draft will be released. Make sure to check back for those results, which should be entertaining. It is one of the more exciting things we do around here and I know those folks participating really enjoy doing so. Consider joining next year!

OK, now to this month’s results after the jump.

1.01 Detroit Lions select Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia: It took four months, but I finally caved in to the hype. Not only does Stafford have a strong arm, the right size and want to play in Detroit, but he also scored extremely well on the Wonderlic. Smart kid, should be a successful NFL player.

1.02 St. Louis Rams select Jason Smith, OT, Baylor: Last year St. Louis beefed up the defensive line, but this season it was the offensive line in absolute disrepair. Marc Bulger does not have many good seasons left in his beaten body and Steven Jackson could use an upgraded run blocker. Smith shot up the board as the safest offensive tackle in this draft with a great combine.

1.03 Kansas City Chiefs select Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest: Easily the best defensive prospect in this year’s draft and an extremely high-character guy. The Chiefs have many needs, but Curry should bring bring instant effectiveness on the defensive side of the ball to start turning things around.

1.04 Seattle Seahawks select B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College: Raji’s ascension up the charts likely stops here at No. 4. Seattle signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh to bolster the receiving corps, which likely means Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree is off the radar.

1.05 Cleveland Browns select Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: Why not? The best player available by a mile, Crabtree would help replace now-departed tight end Kellen Winslow’s receptions in the offense. The Browns had trouble scoring last season, so adding a little firepower to the offensive attack might just by what the doctor ordered.

1.06 Cincinnati Bengals select Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia: Cincy gave up a ton of sacks last year and Carson Palmer is having trouble staying healthy due in part — large part — to the beating he takes on a weekly basis. Monroe will keep Palmer’s backside safe for many years to come if he can live up to the enormous potential surrounding him.

1.07 Oakland Raiders select Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland: Oakland could go in any number of directions, and not just because Al Davis appears to have lost it. Heyward-Bey is a little out of left field at this spot, but not outside the realm of possibility for this team. The pick could be much, much worse, especially after Heyward-Bey’s phenomenal NFL Combine.

1.08 Jacksonville Jaguars select Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss: The Jags’ depleted offensive line made things difficult on the running and passing game last year. Luckily, offensive tackle may be the most talented position in this year’s NFL Draft class. Oher will do a decent job keeping David Garrard off the turner and a better job trucking defenders in the way of Maurice Jones-Drew.

1.09 Green Bay Packers select Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas: The Packers switch to a 3-4 makes projecting their first-round pick difficult. Orakpo is the most talented defensive end in the draft and may have enough versatility to be an effective end or outside linebacker in this scheme. Time will tell, though, if they do in fact take Orakpo here.

1.10 San Francisco 49ers select Mark Sanchez, QB, USC: With Stafford off the board, the 49ers may still opt for a quarterback with Sanchez nipping at Stafford’s heels all spring. He gets to stay in-state, which will be nice for the local fanbase and also help Sanchez stay comfortable in his environment.

1.11 Buffalo Bills select Everette Brown, DE, Florida State: The Bills addressed the offense in a big way with the relatively quick acquisition of wide receiver Terrell Owens, who should bolster what was otherwise a decent unit in 2008. The defensive line could use some work and Brown could give the Bills a nice pass-rushing presence off the end next year.

1.12 Denver Broncos select Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss: Denver scored a second pick in the first round by trading Jay Cutler and it would not be the worst idea for the Broncos to address the defense. What better place to start than the interior of the defensive line. Jerry should significantly seal a middle that was wide open for many a running back in 2008.

1.13 Washington Redskins select Andre Smith, OT, Alabama: Smith is a huge risk, but the upside is too great for a team with a history of gambling to pass on. The question marks have quieted down in recent weeks, a sign that teams could be gaining some confidence in Smith’s character. He undoubtedly has the most upside of any offensive tackle in this draft.

1.14 New Orleans Saints select Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State: To say the Saints’ defense needs help is the understatement of the century. With Jonathan Vilma back in the fold, the Saints could use some help in the secondary. Enter Jenkins, who may be the best cover guy in the draft.

1.15 Houston Texans select Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells, RB, Ohio State: Change of plans in Houston. With the ouster of Ahman Green, the Texans will seek to add a bigger back to the backfield to pair with home-run hitter Steve Slaton. Wells appears to be the perfect complement to Slaton’s slash-and-dash running style.

1.16 San Diego Chargers select Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU: Jackson might have been a first round pick had he come out in 2008, but he started this offseason out of round one. But now he is working his way back in with a good, solid spring. Jackson is a big defensive end that would be a nice anchor on the edge of the Chargers’ defensive line.

1.17 New York Jets select Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State: The Jets lost the Jay Cutler sweepstakes, which means the team still is in the market for a strong-armed quarterback. Freeman may have the second-livest arm in this draft behind Stafford and has the size and overall strength to be a good NFL quarterback. Now he will need to live up the hype in the biggest market in the NFL.

1.18 Denver Broncos select Rey Maualuga, LB, USC: Consider the middle of a once-porous defense sealed. By pairing Maualuga with defensive tackle Peria Jerry a few picks earlier, the Broncos’ defense should own the middle of the football field.

1.19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Brian Cushing, LB, USC: Derrick Brooks is gone, enter Brian Cushing. He has the potential to be the next long-term stud linebacker in a recent history of pretty good ones and injects more youth into what once-was an aging defensive unit.

1.20 Detroit Lions select Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois: Taking Matt Stafford No. 1 almost forces the Lions’ hand here at No. 20. If an elite offensive tackle is available, it would be the wisest selection. However, the top guys are gone in this mock and taking the next rated prospect — Eben Britton? — might be a stretch. But Davis at this spot is a steal after his efforts at the combine and other work outs this spring.

1.21 Philadelphia Eagles select Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia: Pretty obvious that Lorenzo Booker is not the heir apparent we thought he was to Brian Westbrook, although he still has a chance. Regardless, Moreno at No. 21 is too sweet a deal for the Eagles to pass here in the first round, and he helps fill the hole left by Correll Buckhalter.

1.22 Minnesota Vikings select Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri: While the defense could use some work, the emphasis this offseason for the Vikings has been improving the passing game. Sage Rosenfels could use another target on the field, which is where Maclin — rated as the No. 2 wide receiver by most scouts — comes into the fold.

1.23 New England Patriots select James Laurinaitis, ILB, Ohio State: Let’s face it, Tedy Bruschi is not getting any younger. Laurinaitis would make a nice tandem with last year’s first round pick Jerod Mayo in the middle of the Patriots’ defense. Secondary is a need here, too, but electing to pass now could pay dividends later.

1.24 Atlanta Falcons select Aaron Maybin, DE/LB, Penn State: Maybin’s stock has been flying up the charts of late with his freakish athleticism as the driving force. Teams may shy off him a little however, after another freakish athlete — Vernon Gholston — has failed to be much of a force in the NFL. But Mike Smith is a defensive guy who could use a little help in the box, so a project could be in order.

1.25 Miami Dolphins select Clay Matthews: Bill Parcells still in charge? Check. Chances are the Tuna will address the defense in the draft, starting right here with a guy getting far less headlines than his college teammates Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing but plenty capable of being a force in the NFL.

1.26 Baltimore Ravens select Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina: Joe Flacco may have been effective as a starter in 2008, but no one feared the Ravens passing game. By injecting a young, talented, tall receiver into the lineup, Flacco’s numbers may start to look more like an average NFL starting quarterback’s instead of a game manager ala Trent Dilfer.

1.27 Indianapolis Colts select Evander Hood, DT, Missouri: The Colts have been searching to find a plug in the middle of the defensive line for a few years now. While there are only two elite defensive tackle prospects in this draft, several players grade out as first-day picks including Hood.

1.28 Philadelphia Eagles select Louis Delmas, S, Western Michigan: Delmas will have some big shoes to fill in helping replace former Eagles’ safety Brian Dawkins. It was unclear whether or not any safety in this year’s class would be first-round worthy, but Delmas’ stock has been rising steadily the last few weeks.

1.29 New York Giants select Percy Harvin, WR, Florida: The Giants are in the market for a big receiver and are trying to acquire Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards at the moment. As good as Edwards is in the aerial attack, the Giants may not be done searching for more juice in what became a pretty stale passing game by the end of 2008.

1.30 Tennessee Titans select Sen’Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn: Another one of those borderline 1st/2nd round picks, Marks is a big boy that should be able to fill some of the void left by Albert Haynesworth. He will have to play well above his potential to completely erase the memory of Haynesworth in Tennessee, however.

1.31 Arizona Cardinals select Donald Brown, RB, Connecticut: In a slight surprise, the Cardinals get a running back to supplant both Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower. It is obvious James is on the downside of his career and Hightower failed with his chance to become the team’s leading back last year. Brown’s meteoric rise this spring is reminiscent of Matt Forte’s climb up the draft boards last year.

1.32 Pittsburgh Steelers select Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma: The Steelers always seem to do so well in the draft, and this could be no exception. The first guard off the board, Robinson is a big boy who would fit well in Pittsburgh’s smash-mouth style of football.

Spread the love:
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • E-mail this story to a friend!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!